Valentine's Day Card and Silhouette Stamping tutorial
As we are nearing Valentine's Day, I had to keep with my yearly tradition of making an awesome Valentine's Day card for my husband. This year I tried something new by creating my own stamp using Silhouette's new stamp material. (note: this is not a sponsored post, just a lover of all things Silhouette!)
For me, the Silhouette had my attention when I found I could edit my own images, input my own fonts, and keep everything personal. The stamping products are no different. They provide you with cuttable material which sticks to clear stamp blocks. That means anything my head can create, can turn into a stamp.
I knew exactly what I wanted to do for my husband's card. Get ready for something a little cheesy. See, when we were dating we used to chat back and forth about being the luckiest person. I'd say, "No, I'm the luckiest!" And he'd say no, "I'm the luckiest, everest!" And then we'd just keep adding EST to the end of words and get all schmoozy and googly eyed at each other. Then I had 'EST' inscribed on the inside of his wedding ring so it was like the never ending EST. To this day we leave little 'est' notes laying around for each other. So I just HAD to make an EST stamp! I mean, where could I ever buy such a thing?? I made my own!
The directions that come with the stamping kit are pretty clear, but I wanted to add one note. You do not need to cut the image in reverse, but you do need to put it on the block backwards so that when you turn it over to stamp your craft, it will turn out the right way. I'm glad I caught it before I put ink on it. :)
Once I had my EST stamp ready to go, I covered my card with lots of stamps.
I wanted one to stand out in red, so I used my silhouette software to create an outline of the word I had just cut into my stamp material. I did one in the same material as my card, and one a little bit bigger in black glitter card stock.
Another side note: It's normal to get ink all over your block. I didn't get any of that extra ink on my card.
I put my red EST on with some foam tape to make it pop. Now it's ready for me to write a sappy love note inside! I think he'll love it. AND I can use my EST stamp to leave little love notes throughout the year!
So a little review of the stamp experience itself. I love that I can create my own designs, but I will need some time to get the actual stamping process clean. Notice some of my ESTs are a little blotchy and almost grungy looking. That wasn't on purpose. In the end it looked kind of cool, but you may not always want that look. I used the black ink that came with the starter kit, and after a few stamps it started coming out clearer. The red ink i bought at Michael's and it was always blotchy. Not quite sure how to fix that. Also, a few times the letters peeled off of the clear block while i was trying to ink it up. I'll give it some more practice and share any tips I find!
What a cute card!! I used to use stamps in my third grade classroom every day. The most challenging part I had was putting even pressure on the stamp so the ink came out even.
I hope to try the Silhouette stamping kit when I find it at a good price. How many stamps the size you made can be make with the kit? I'm just curious.
Thank you so much for sharing your detailed tutorial.
Thanks so much for stopping by! I try to answer all valid comments as soon as possible, but you can also email info@occasionallycrafty.com with an urgent question. Have a great day!
What a cute card!! I used to use stamps in my third grade classroom every day. The most challenging part I had was putting even pressure on the stamp so the ink came out even.
ReplyDeleteI hope to try the Silhouette stamping kit when I find it at a good price. How many stamps the size you made can be make with the kit? I'm just curious.
Thank you so much for sharing your detailed tutorial.